The new Central Europe
Central Europe has become one of the great success stories of the post-1989 transformation. Yet economic convergence, EU membership and growing prosperity have not shielded the region from political fragmentation, social disillusionment and democratic backsliding. Today, the question is no longer whether Central Europe belongs to the European mainstream, but what role it wants to play in shaping Europe’s increasingly uncertain future.
September 11, 2026 -
Pavel Havlíček
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Hot TopicsIssue 5 2026Magazine
Central Europe is arguably one of the great success stories of post-1989 Europe – and yet, the past 15 years of economic convergence embedded in European integration and NATO membership have not paradoxically produced the political and societal stability one might have expected. The region’s economic growth and well-being of citizens, especially when overcoming the 2008-09 economic crisis, continued to steadily grow. This is also true of life expectancy and general prosperity in the region. Central Europe, especially if we focus on the Visegrad Four, continued to benefit from its membership in the EU and NATO. These organizations delivered stability, prosperity and above all security that their neighbours to the east, primarily Ukraine, could only envy.
Yet despite these successes, all four countries have experienced considerable social disillusionment, polarization and societal fragmentation. In turn, these trends have contributed to political revanchism, a backlash against the EU, and the growth of anti-system tendencies. In some cases, they have even encouraged closer relations with the Kremlin or, to a lesser extent, the Chinese Communist Party. This raises an important question: what went wrong, and what lessons can be drawn for the future? The question is particularly striking given the relative prosperity these countries have achieved, even as that prosperity is increasingly threatened by Russia’s aggressive imperialism as part of its war against Ukraine and wider confrontation with the West.
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Central Europe, Czechia, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Visegrad countries 
